


Relaxation Date

by Burgie



Category: Star Stable Online
Genre: Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-29
Updated: 2018-03-29
Packaged: 2019-04-14 13:13:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,117
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14136762
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Burgie/pseuds/Burgie
Summary: Izabella and Syntax go to Jorvik City to relax a bit and catch up after a busy few weeks separated them. Izabella belongs to hollow_moon.





	Relaxation Date

**Author's Note:**

> Edited to fix Syntax's pronouns, please let me know if I missed any.

Izabella broke away from her group of friends as they rode through Valedale, having just returned from South Hoof where they’d left Zelda with Justin.

“You guys can train without me,” said Izabella, guiding her horse towards the inn where a familiar bespectacled young person stuck out like any city person in the country would. They were currently frowning as they held their phone up.

“Ah, Izabella, I was wondering when we might be seeing you,” said Herman. At the sound of her name, Syntax almost dropped their phone and then wheezed.

“I was wondering the same about you,” said Izabella. “Guess it took you a good two weeks to get to Valedale from the Eastern Slopes, huh?”

“It was quite the long journey,” said Herman. “Especially with the freshness of the air making me so dizzy, and the pollen, well….”

“We had to stop many times to pick up my allergy medication,” said Syntax, sneezing. Izabella smiled fondly and rolled her eyes.

“You’re a walking stereotype, my nerd,” said Izabella, dismounting and inching closer to her partner. To her surprise, Syntax made the first move, wrapping their arms around her. It surprised her, how strongly she reacted to that. She didn’t think that she’d liked them that much.

“I would’ve called but there’s no reception out here,” said Syntax, looking at their phone again after they released her from the hug. They still stayed close to her, though.

“Yeah, there generally isn’t out in the country,” said Izabella with a shrug.

“I miss the city,” said Syntax, mournfully pocketing their phone. “And social media, and just… the internet.”

“Well, why don’t we go there?” asked Izabella. “I’ve just had a pretty hectic mission, and so did you, so let’s go out on a date.”

“We never really did that before, did we?” said Syntax. Izabella shook her head.

“No, because you were always busy with work. Jamie’s shitty coffee and breakfast rolls were the only dates we had, except for a few times when I managed to convince you to venture out to Jarlaheim,” said Izabella.

“I have time to go into the city for the afternoon, don’t I, Herman?” asked Syntax, looking to the older man.

“Oh, yes, certainly, my friends are rather busy at the moment,” said Herman, giving the universal shooing motion to allow Syntax to go. Privately, Izabella thought that Herman should just tell Syntax that his friends were the druids, but, knowing Syntax, they'd be sceptical. That was why Izabella still hadn’t told them about the whole Soul Rider thing.

“So, did you have anything in mind?” asked Syntax as the two of them rode off together towards Fort Pinta.

“I kind of want to do an origami class,” said Izabella.

“Ooh, Japanese, I like it,” said Syntax, nodding. Izabella grinned, unable to contain herself. Her friends would have teased her mercilessly about the ‘dorky’ hobby, but Syntax was into it. Because of course they were. Izabella suddenly realised how much she’d missed her dork.

“And then I guess we should grab a bite to eat somewhere,” said Izabella. “I’m choosing the activity, so you can choose the place.”

“Okay, I’ll think about it after our class,” said Syntax. “Or during, if I’m not concentrating too hard on the paper.”

“Well, don’t hurt yourself,” said Izabella, giving them a fond smile. “We need that beautiful brain of yours in top condition.”

“Well, it clearly wasn’t when I needed it to be,” said Syntax, pushing their glasses up the bridge of their nose. “I ruined everything.”

“No you didn’t, we just had to adapt,” said Izabella. “And who knows, maybe GED had some tricks up their sleeves.”

“But I’m supposed to be a hacking genius,” said Syntax, looking down at their horse’s mane. “Clearly not.”

“Look, we all have bad days,” said Izabella. “Some more than others. But it turned out okay in the end, we got Herman out and didn’t lose anyone in the process.”

“I guess,” said Syntax, and sighed. But then, they looked at their girlfriend. “We didn’t get much time to talk before, so what have you been up to?”

“Gaming,” said Izabella, and Syntax grinned, looking like a kid on Christmas. Izabella blushed. “Yeah, I know, I’m a nerd like you.”

“I’m so proud,” said Syntax. “My influence has clearly rubbed off on you.”

“Whatever,” said Izabella, but she smiled.

Syntax seemed to breathe easier once they reached the city, even if they did insist on checking all of their social medias and updating them on the walk to the place where the origami class was located.

“Syntax, put your phone away,” said Izabella as she pushed the door open. A bell tinkled softly, and the soft sound of Japanese music reached her ears. It smelled nice in here, in addition to being the perfect temperature.

“Oh, hello,” said a middle-aged Japanese woman, setting down her magazine and standing up. “You’re not looking for the Japanese restaurant, are you?”

“No, we’re here for the class,” said Izabella with a shake of her head. The woman gasped, her hand over her mouth.

“Do many people take this class?” asked Syntax, looking around the empty room. There was a small table in the centre, low to the ground with cushions placed around for people to sit on, but none of those cushions was currently occupied.

“No, not at all,” said the woman. “My father says that this is a waste of rent, but I love teaching Westerners the art of origami.”

“Some people might call me a weeb, but Japanese culture just fascinates me,” said Izabella, following the woman into the room after taking her shoes off and leaving them on the shoe rack by the door. After some consideration, Syntax placed their shoes there as well and followed their girlfriend over to the table.

“As long as you can be respectful, I am happy to teach you,” said the woman, bringing out some large, square pieces of paper and setting them on the table. Izabella sat down on one cushion, and Syntax sat opposite her, so that they could watch each other work. They looked at the paper dubiously as the woman picked up a piece, while Izabella watched with interest shining in her eyes.

“Will we be making cranes today?” asked Izabella.

“Of course,” said the woman, nodding as she began to make careful, precise folds. She showed each bit of progress to the two of them, and then waited for them to copy it before she continued. “Cranes are traditional. Now, origami is a very precise and fiddly art, requiring a lot of patience. Take all the time you need.”

“Are we allowed to talk?” asked Syntax, looking rather unsure of themselves. Izabella stifled a giggle at the thought that they looked like they were back in school.

“Yes, as long as you are still able to concentrate,” said the woman.

“Okay,” said Syntax, and was silent for a while, either searching for a safe topic to talk about, or simply concentrating on folding the paper just right to create a bird.

“I missed you,” said Izabella after a while of this silence.

“I missed you too,” said Syntax. “Way more than I expected. I knew stuff was about to happen, but…”

“I guess it’s true that you don’t realise how much you love someone until you have to be away from them,” said Izabella, folding her crane’s wing and then comparing it to the teacher’s bird. It looked spot-on.

“Yeah,” said Syntax, their bird looking nothing like a graceful crane. It looked more like a bird that had suffered a dire injury.

“But don’t worry,” said Izabella, reaching over and taking Syntax’s crane. She straightened a wing fold while she pondered over how to be cryptic enough to avoid giving out information to outsiders while still being understandable. “His friends are my friends, so I have a feeling that we’re going to be seeing a lot more of each other soon.”

“Really?” asked Syntax. Izabella prayed that they'd understood that properly, and nodded.

“You’ve just entered a rather interesting world,” said Izabella, finishing her crane and placing it on the table with a smile. “It’s a bit weird and also a bit much but you’ll get used to it. And I’m always here if you need someone to explain things.”

“Gee, now I’m scared,” said Syntax, fiddling with their bird. “You’re at a higher level than me, are you sure you’d be able to help me out?”

“I’m not afraid of breaking rules,” said Izabella, grateful for Syntax’s quick thinking with the video game metaphor. “Don’t worry, you’re safe with me.”

“I hope so,” said Syntax, grimacing as they held up their damaged bird. It was done, but it looked nothing like Izabella’s or the teacher’s.

“Let’s try another animal,” said the teacher, handing out more paper. “Perhaps a horse this time?”

“Oh yeah, and you’d better like horses,” said Izabella as she took her paper and began copying the teacher’s instructions. “This game is all about horses.”

“I’m sure I’ll live,” said Syntax. “And hey, you’re the expert on horses, so you can help me out.” Izabella smiled at them, though she looked forward to being able to talk about this openly with them. Even if she would still be holding back some things.

After their origami class, in which Syntax destroyed paper and Izabella created art, Syntax took the lead, heading towards a restaurant that just screamed ‘hipster’. The blackboard menu out the front boasted gluten free, organic, all natural, and vegan meals. Izabella almost physically recoiled, though it made sense. Of course Syntax would take her to a hipster restaurant, of all places.

“What is this place?” asked Izabella, trying to figure out what it was like by standing outside of it.

“It’s a restaurant designed for the chemically sensitive,” said Syntax. Izabella frowned.

“Syntax, I know you have allergies, but you don’t have that particular condition,” said Izabella.

“I don’t but I still like this place,” said Syntax. “The food is really good, it’s just all organic and gluten free and stuff.”

“Like the café in Valedale?” asked Izabella.

“Yeah, basically,” said Syntax, nodding. “Herman took me there but I like it better here. Less pollen and fur.”

“Alright, I guess I did say that you could choose the restaurant,” said Izabella. “I just hope that none of my friends sees me here.”

“I doubt they will,” said Syntax. “You said they’re all off training or something?”

“Yeah, training their horses,” said Izabella with a nod. “Hopefully I can find something nice here.”

“They do serve some meat,” said Syntax. “It’s just organic.”

“Long as it doesn’t trigger someone,” Izabella muttered under her breath, and walked inside with her partner.

“Table for two?” said Syntax to the pierced woman who stood at the counter. She had very short, bleached blonde hair, and she nodded and led the two to a table near a window before leaving them with menus.

“Oh, thank god, they have normal food here,” said Izabella after perusing the menu.

“I told you,” said Syntax. “It’s just organic and all that other stuff.”

“I bet everyone here is fully capable of eating an entire loaf of whole-wheat bread,” said Izabella. “They just choose not to.”

“Some might be gluten intolerant,” said Syntax. Izabella snorted.

“Yeah, maybe one per cent,” said Izabella. “Alright, I’ll have this fancy beef burger. What are you having?”

“Turkey sub,” said Syntax, setting down their menu and signalling one of the waiters over. The waitress who took their order had a butterfly stud in her nose.

“So the Wagyu and the turkey sub,” said the waitress. “Any drinks or appetisers?”

“Water, please,” said Izabella, not wanting to ruin her date by being rude to the waitress.

“I’ll have the same,” said Syntax.

“Great, I’ll bring a water jug to the table,” said the waitress, and walked away to give their order to the chef.

“This better be a damn good burger,” said Izabella, remembering the quite high price of it.

“It is, trust me,” said Syntax. Izabella smirked at them.

“I’ll take your word for it,” said Izabella. In this moment, she wished that she didn’t have to be such a bitch all the time. She loved her partner with all her heart, and she wished that she could tell them. But, whenever she thought of something to say, her words came out wrong. Hurtful. She was just glad that Syntax could see past that. And so she sat in silence, content to simply be with them. Even if her mind wanted her to badmouth this restaurant and all of the hipsters in it.


End file.
